"There is only one power that determines the course of history . . . the power of ideas." — Ayn Rand

Monday, April 23, 2012

Antitrust Prosecution of Apple is Rotten

The New Jersey Star-Ledger has published my letter-to-the-editor on the Apple antitrust case, making it the featured letter in the Readers Forum of the 4/18/12 print addition. My letter has also been published on-line under the heading, Antitrust case against Apple is unfair. Here is a reprint:

The antitrust case against Apple and five major book publishers — Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster — exposes the true nature of the antitrust laws.

These companies’ only “crime” was to engage in free, voluntary and morally legitimate business contracts for the purpose of maximizing their profits earned from their products — products of such high value and incredibly cheap prices that untold millions of “consumers” are willing and able to buy them; products marketed in a spirit of free and open competition.

Yet, in what can be described only as Orwellian, federal and state government officials — who themselves produce nothing of value for “consumers” to buy — have decided to prosecute these great American companies for the alleged criminal activity of “conspiring to fix the prices” on their own products!

This is nothing more than legalized extortion. The antitrust laws are, and always have been, a grossly unjust travesty that punishes successful companies — for being successful. Such arbitrary laws have no place in a society dedicated to the protection of individual rights and the rule of objective law, rather than of men over men. The antitrust laws are un-American and should be abolished.

Michael A. LaFerrara, Flemington

I also responed to the article Apple Should Settle E-Book Antitrust Case, Expert Says in the comments section. Citing a former DOJ attorney, the article called the evidence "so strong that the companies would be foolish not to settle the case with the Department of Justice out of court." The attorney, David Balto, was quoted as saying ""Government enforcers fantasize about this kind of evidence but this is beyond their fantasies."

What is this "evidence?"

Among the government's evidence is records of emails and phone calls that allegedly show executives from the companies, including late Apple CEO Steve Jobs, openly conspiring to use their market clout to increase the price of e-books industry wide.

I see nothing wrong with anything the companies did as described here. What I do see is Orwellian claptrap relating to the government’s case, such as “Federal Trade Commission, which regulates industry competition,” “restore the free market” by governmental decree, or the characterization of the executives private contractual correspondence as “conspiracy.” What Apple and the publishers did is competition in a free market; the “free” meaning free from physical force and coercion. What government is now doing is force, not free market competition.

These companies’ “market clout” represents benign economic power earned from the valuable products priced to attract untold tens of millions of willing “consumers” voluntarily buying them. It is the government that is attempting true price fixing—i.e., by political power of force and coercion. By what perverse logic do Apple and the publishers’ voluntary actions constitute “fixing” the price, but government’s coercive actions do not?

About Me

Greetings and welcome to my blog. My name is Michael A. (Mike) LaFerrara. I sometimes use the pen or "screen" name "Mike Zemack" or "Zemack" in online activism, such as posted comments on articles. “Zemack” stands for the first letters of the names of my six grandchildren. I was born in 1949 in New Jersey, U.S.A., where I retired from a career in the plumbing, building controls, and construction industries, and still reside with my wife of 45 years. The purpose of my blog is the discussion of a wide range of topics relating to human events. My analysis is informed by the principles of Objectivism, the philosophy of reason and independence originated by Ayn Rand.

As Rand observed: “The professional intellectual is the field agent of the army whose commander-in-chief is the philosopher.” I am certainly not the philosopher. But neither am I a field agent, or general. I am a foot soldier in that Objectivist army that fights for an individualist society in which every person can live in dignified sovereignty, by his own reasoned judgment, for his own sake, in that state of peaceful coexistence with his fellow man that only capitalist political and economic freedom can provide. While I am a fully committed Objectivist, my opinions are based on my own understanding of Objectivism, and should not be taken as definitive “Objectivist positions.” For the full story of my journey toward Objectivism, see my Introduction.

One final introductory note: I strongly recommend Philosophy, Who Needs it, which highlights the inescapable importance of philosophy in every individual's life. I can be reached at mal.atlas@comcast.net. Thanks, Mike LaFerrara.

Recommended Essays/Videos

Quotes I Like

Let me give you a tip on a clue to men’s characters: the man who damns money has obtained it dishonorably; the man who respects it has earned it. Run for your life from any man who tells you that money is evil. That sentence is the leper’s bell of an approaching looter.—Francisco d'Anconia

I love getting older...I get to grow up and learn things. Madalyn, 5 years old, Montesorri student, and my grand-daughter

The best thing one can do for the poor is to not become one of them. Author Unknown

Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed. Francis Bacon

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. Ronald Reagan

Thinking is hard work. If it weren't, more people would do it. Henry Ford

Intellectual freedom cannot exist without political freedom; political freedom cannot exist without economic freedom; a free mind and a free market are corollaries. Ayn Rand